Chapter 274: Forced to the Negotiating Table
News of the CIA’s attempt to assassinate an unarmed civilian of a foreign nation quickly spread across the globe. Though the United States denied any involvement in the attack, Los Zetas was quick to not only spread its own propaganda about the event but also went so far as to identify the agents that Alex had killed in his desperate attempt to save Nina from an untimely demise.
Sitting in the seat of luxury within upstate New York was a mature and graceful beauty. With a single look, one would easily be able to describe her as a “wasp”. And it was this same woman who had previously been ordering the director of the CIA to kill Alex.
While this woman was informed of what was happening in Mexico by a servant dressed in an all black suit, along with a black tie, and black sunglasses. She frowned heavily. The attack on the Mexican hacker failed, and Alex managed to kill several agents of the CIA.
In doing so, he was able to provide significant evidence of the United States’ involvement in the attack on a foreign civilian. Causing an enormous international incident. By now even the Mexican Government, which while publically against the rise of Los Zetas, was secretly in their pocket, had begun to denounce the United States and its hawkish actions.
Nation after nation came out in support of Mexico, condemning the United States and its Central Intelligence Agency, to the point where several NATO members were threatening to sever ties with the organization permanently.
Margaret was the name of the elegant beauty, Margaret Rockefeller. And she was not the least bit pleased with this news, as she openly spoke her thoughts on the subject aloud to nobody in particular.
“This Alex Smith is a greater adversary than we previously thought… I wonder if it was his intention to cause a diplomatic crisis for the United States. Was this Nina Flores just bait for us? We may have to come to the negotiating table, because after this catastrophe, I fear further interference south of the border will only cause the world to turn against the United States, and that would be very bad for business….”
A deep and masculine voice could be heard from behind Margaret, seemingly responded to her thoughts.
Margaret narrowed her eyes at her husband, a man with a full head of silver hair, and a matching beard. The man was easily twenty years older than herself, and had married into the family. In truth, she was the one with the final say, and was displeased that he agreed with the sentiments she had expressed on a whim.
“Dear, you do realize if we open negotiations with a common criminal, it can be perceived as a sign of weakness, right? The fact of the matter is, we possess the ability to wipe out the Cartel in a matter of days. If we were so inclined to, we could easily kill this little nuisance!”
Despite his wife’s fury, this man was the voice of reason, as he pointed out the difficulties that would result from such a thing.
‘If we were so inclined…. But that would require a full scale invasion of Mexico, and after the little stunt you just pulled such an aggressive and overt action would turn the world against us. After all, America is supposed to be the ideological counter to Russia, and similar authoritarian regimes.
The United States will lose any semblance of moral superiority that it currently has if we were to invade Mexico, a sovereign nation simply to deal with a pesky criminal element within it. That would cause far more problems than it would solve.
Face it, love, this grudge of yours against a common fool who accidentally interfered with your plans has gone on long enough. The boy is clearly smarter than we gave him credit for, and more capable. We don’t even necessarily need to bring him to the negotiating table, as he does not even know who we are.
Instead, we just need to leave him be, and allow him and his loved ones to return to their homes unmolested. If we do that, then he will surely leave us be.”
Margaret, however, did not heed her husband’s advice, and instead countered him with a valid point.
“Dear, you are talking about a man who had his stepfather’s entire family, down to the last woman and child, murdered simply because they posed a threat to him and his loved ones. We have actively moved against him, and one of his women… What exactly do you think will happen if we simply leave him be?”
Despite this valid argument, Margaret’s husband was far from convinced, as he spoke rather arrogantly about Alex’s abilities, or lack of them.
“Mags, do you even hear yourself? He is just a boy! Sure, he might have the aid of Los Zetas and its hitmen, but they are no threat to you, me, or any of our peers. The boy would get himself killed if he ever attempted to wage war against us.
I’m sure if we offer an olive branch, he will take it. After all, he has gotten a taste of our ability to strike wherever he may be. Does he really want to live the rest of his life with a target on his back? His whole goal seems to be traveling the world and banging chicks, so why don’t we just let him go back to doing that?”
Though Margaret was slightly worried about Alex being a threat if left to his own devices, she could not find fault with her husband’s words, and thus she sighed heavily, and despite her better judgement, agreed with the man.
“Alright… We will let him know that so long as he does not step on our toes again, then we have no quarrel with him…”
And thus, without even realizing it, Alex had caused enough trouble for his pursuers, that they decided to ultimately back off… For now….